Long Drive
by the-original-lovelace
Summary: She always hated Faith and no one ever thought to ask why. But being stuck together in a car for a few hours gives one plenty of time to clear the air. Implied Fuffy and potential Fallow. Set during S07. One Shot.


Willow and Faith, you say? in a..._romantic_ sense? how _scandalous_ a suggestion! I would nev-

Oh, wait. I just did. lol XD

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General Disclaimer:

The characters in this story don't belong to me – though I often wish they did – but _are_ copyrighted to their respective owners so, let me make it clear that I will make _no_ profits off of _any_ of these stories. So, you know, please don't sue me.

Personal Disclaimer:

If you don't like _Buffy the Vampire Slayer,_ _Willow/Faith,_ or girlxgirl pairings in general than read no further. You've been warned in an effort to save both your time and mine.

Oh, and please remember that there _is_ a difference between a critical critique and a flame.

So, now that all of the unpleasantness is out of the way, please enjoy _Long Drive  
_

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_This is gonna be a __long__ drive._ Willow thought before sliding into the chilled interior of her car, her face barely managed to hold on to its neutral countenance as Faith slid in on the passenger side, slamming the door shut behind her. _If I even manage to survive. _She added snarkily as she closed her own door, remembering her last less-than-friendly interaction with the so called Dark Slayer.

They'd been driving for about fifteen minutes in silence when, just as they hit the highway, Faith's hand shot out, aimed for the radio.

"Doesn't work," Willow said shortly, watching from the corner of her eye as the brunette wordlessly dropped her hand back into her lap and resumed playing with the loose thread running along the bottom of her t-shirt. It struck her then how unlike herself the Slayer had been acting, how calm and, dare she say it, pleasant even. And, instead of reciprocating, she'd been everything from stiff to downright rude.

She had her reasons, of course, more than most people actually, but still…Faith had proven herself extremely…well…extremely well, considering that she'd voluntarily gone _and_ stayed in prison until being asked to break out, a crime done for someone else's, namely Angel's, benefit. She wondered fleetingly if she'd have gone back, had there not been a brewing apocalypse. And, despite her better judgment, something told her she would have.

She cleared her throat, effectively gaining the brunettes attention. "I keep meaning to get it fixed," she said, gesturing towards the radio.

A moment of silence, one where Willow mentally kicked herself for giving into the Dark Slayer's 'horribly evil plot of awkwardness' occurred before she heard her say something. Except, thanks to her mental fisticuffs about how terrible she was for misjudging Faith twice in as many minutes, she missed her words.

"Sorry?" she asked, feeling stupid.

"I said I could take a look at it when we get ta Sunny D, if ya want," she repeated. "Probly just a loose cable or somethin'; usually is," she added offhandedly.

"You're a mechanic now?" she asked surprised.

"I ain't got a fancy piece of paper sayin' I'm 'qualified', if that's what ya mean," she said casually, digging dirt out from beneath her fingernails. "If not…then sure, I can probly fix it fer ya; if not, buy a new one an' I'll hook it up, no prob,"

"I didn't know you were good with cars," she said honestly. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk about it before,"

Faith shrugged and looked over at her, a single eyebrow raised. "Do ya remember us talkin' 'bout much of anythin', Red?"

She shook her head. "Not much, no,"

They descended into silence.

"Oh uh, guess I should say thanks. Fer the ride, I mean," she said suddenly, nodding towards the road blurring beneath the high beams.

"It's fine. I mean, I _am_ headed that way," she said, smiling when she heard the Slayer laugh.

"I guess so, huh?" she cleared her throat. "So…what's the deal in Sunny D? I didn't well…ya were real vague back at Angel's,"

"It's…well, it's complicated," she said honestly, running a hand through her hair. "You…you know that Buffy…you know that she died, right?" she asked hesitantly, wishing she had a more delicate way to word the question.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the brunette nod shakily as though the gesture, or perhaps the words themselves, hurt her.

"Slayer thing?" she asked after a moment, earning a second wordless nod. Glancing over at the brunette, she narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to figure out what was up with her. It wasn't as though she'd expected the dark slayer to throw a party every time she thought of her sister Slayers death but this was such an obviously controlled reaction that she couldn't help but be taken aback.

A thought entered her mind then, one she wasn't even slightly comfortable with but knew she had to give voice too if she wanted to clear the air. "You didn't…I mean, you didn't _feel_…" she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Faith was silent for a long moment, so long in fact, that she didn't think she was going to answer at all. "Yeah…I did," she said quietly, so quietly that she almost didn't hear.

Willow swallowed hard, feeling slightly ill and overwhelmingly guilty. She'd never thought of Faith alone in her prison cell, bent over with the pain her sister Slayer would have felt as she crashed through the portal, closing it with her life's blood. She opened her mouth to apologize when the former dark slayer spoke.

"An' I know she's back," she said, her voice once again neutral. "So, I guess its good we've got…whatever the fuck we've got. No one thought ta call,"

"I didn't think-"

She waved her off. "Nah, Red. Wasn't tryin' ta make ya feel guilty," she said, taking her by surprise. "Just gripin' aloud, ya know? I mean…I _earned_ it, right? My own fault,"

"Still, we should've…someone should have told you, even if you knew. She…Buffy meant something to you," Willow said slowly, choosing her words with care. It was true that the two slayers had once been an item, 'Fuffy' as Xander had so eloquently dubbed them, but it was also true that their relationship had ended on terms almost as poor as Buffy's and Angels had.

Faith smiled, though the gesture was heavy with sadness. "Yeah…she did, still does, in her way," she shrugged and shifted in her seat, obviously uncomfortable. "Must be a Slayer thing," she added offhandedly.

"You Slayers and your 'things'," the redhead said, rolling her eyes.

She laughed. "Still got one of those yerself, Red?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, sparing her a glance.

Faith looked over at her incredulously before breaking into raucous laughter. "Oh, come _on_, Red. We both know ya had a thing fer B,"

"I did not!" she squeaked indignantly, her words coming out at least two octaves higher than usual, a gesture which succeeded only in making the brunette laugh that much harder.

"Oh, ya did so!" she exclaimed. "I mean, ya freaked ev'ry time ya saw us together. Obvious ya were gettin' all jealous 'bout me stealin' yer girl," she finished matter-of-factly.

"M-my girl?" she repeated disbelievingly, her eyes wide. "Faith, I-I never…Buffy and I are _just_ friends. _Really_," she insisted.

She looked over at her, eyebrow cocked disbelievingly. "Red, I know I ain't the smartest person 'round; hell, I ain't even the smartest person in this car," she said, making Willow smile. "But I _know_ ya were jealous as fuck 'bout me bein' with her,"

She opened her mouth to reply and then seemed to think better of it, closing it again with a soft click. She thought about lying, about brushing it off, even about admitting to a false crush on her best friend just to get her to let this go but, somehow, none of those options seemed like the right one. So, instead, she took a deep breath and spoke: "I…I was jealous-"

"Ha!" Faith said, sitting back in her seat triumphantly. "Told ya I-"

"It's not what you think," she said quickly, shaking her head for emphasis. "I wasn't jealous of _you_ for being with _her_," she continued. "I was jealous of _her_ for being…" she trailed off, a light blush tingeing her cheeks as she found herself unable to complete the sentence.

"Whaddaya ta-" Faith cut off as her meaning hit her. She tried to speak, her mouth opening and closing multiple times, while she stared at her, her dark eyes searching her face for any hint of deception. "Me?" she said, her surprise making it a question. "Ya had a…ya liked…me?" she finished finally, struggling with the words.

She nodded. "Yeah, I did. You were just so…so different, you know? I didn't even know I liked girls until…" she swallowed. "Actually, besides Tara, it still is just well…just you," she knew she must be blushing like mad; she could feel the heat staining her cheeks.

Faith continued to study her, an unreadable expression slowly overtaking her features. "That's why ya hated me? 'Cos I was with her an' I…I didn't-"

"Because you didn't see me, not when I was next to her," she supplied, a trace of bitterness entering her voice. "I was used to being overlooked by guys; it happened enough. But when I _only_ saw you…" she cleared her throat, which had suddenly gotten tight. "Besides, at the end, you didn't really give me a lot of reasons to change my mind,"

Faith was silent for a long moment, making Willow regret her choice of words. Now, replaying them in her minds' eye, they sounded…petty. More than petty even; they were purposefully hurtful. That wasn't what she wanted. Leave it to her and her babbling to mess it all up just when they were getting along.

"I'm sorry,"

It took the redhead a moment to realize that, though those words had formed on her lips, it wasn't her voice that had spoken them aloud.

"For what?" she asked, confused. After all, if anyone needed to apologize at that moment, it was her.

The brunette shrugged lightly as she resumed picking at the bottom of her shirt. "Fer not…seein' ya, I guess. I mean, I'm sorry fer lotsa other stuff too but…I think this's special 'nuff ta earn its own apology," she met her eyes then, as though trying to express her honesty and, like Willow had the first time she'd seen those eyes, she felt herself start to fall into them.

"I'm sorry too, Faith,"

She raised a single curious brow. "Whaddya talkin' 'bout, Red? I mean, ya ain't got nothin' ta be sorry fer,"

"What I said before, that was…bringing that up…it was petty and hurtful. And that's not what we need right now," she cleared her throat. "This fight…it's gonna take all of us, together. Grudges, of any kind, will get people killed,"

"Makes sense," she said, nodding in agreement.

"Then…let's agree to let the past stay the past and focus on having a future. What do you say?" she asked, trying to keep the hopeful tone from overpowering her words.

When Faith didn't answer right away, she grew concerned and looked over, only to see the brunette squinting towards the windshield, her forehead wrinkled in thought as she considered her offer. It was, by far, one of the cutest things she'd ever seen in her life. "Well, if yer willin' ta forgive my stupid mistakes…" she began, offering her a simple smile. "Uh, yeah; hell, yeah," she cleared her throat. "So then we're, us two anyway…we're good?"

"Five by five," she said, making both of them laugh.

As they quieted and descended into silence, this one decidedly less tense, Willow realized how comfortable she felt. Risking a glance at the dark slayer, she wondered how much of it was because of the company. She'd just turned her eyes back to the road when Faith's voice rang out, making her turn back to her.

"So…Red?"

"Yeah?" she asked, noting to herself the curious gleam reflecting in those dark eyes.

"Ya still got that crush on me?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Willow groaned dramatically, shaking her head. _This is gonna be a __long__ drive. _

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R&R if you please. (or if you don't please)_  
_


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